The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust has successfully raised £3.5 million to ensure the conservation of the Antarctic hut used by legendary explorer Robert Scott during his ill-fated final expedition.
Now the £3.5 million target has been reached, work has begun on the conservation of the hut. Work is expected to be completed in time for the 2012 centenary of the Scott’s death, who along with his team died on his return from reaching the South Pole in January 1912, sadly a few weeks later than rival Roald Amundsen.
Erected in 1911, the pre-fabricated hut at Cape Evans on Ross Island has survived for almost a century and contains thousands upon thousands of exploration artefacts dating back to the early 1900s.
Although it is still standing, the harsh environment it sits in has taken its toll and the hut is in need of urgent repairs to ensure it’s preserved for future generations and remains a historic monument to one of the most stirring exploration stories of all time.
The conservation of the hut is part of a wider conservation project supported by the Natural History Museum that focuses on the restoration of four Antarctic explorers’ huts.
Philippa Foster Back, Chairman, UKAHT, said: “I can't thank enough everyone who has been involved and all who have given - now matter how much or how little.
“It shows just how much the British people cherish the memory of Captain Scott that they have put their hands in their pockets to save a small wooden building on the other side of the world that few of them will ever visit in person.”
Two such British people who’ve lent their support to the fundraising campaign are Gavin Booth and Adam Wilton. The pair were recently awarded MBEs after they trekked unaided to the South Pole in 2009 to raise money to support the cause. Their journey was the fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole by a British team.
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